Everybody sit down. The United States is not number one in the world when it comes to something. I know, it's crazy. According to the Oct 23 2012 Global Gender Gap Report from the World Economic Forum, we're only 22nd best in gender equality, right after Canada and before Mozambique. And since the United States slipped down five spots from last year, we're pretty much moving backwards. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised the Tea Party hasn't dragged us down even further. USA? USA? USA?

The report ranks 135 countries (which collectively contain over 90 percent of the world's population) based on 14 indicators used to measure the size of a nation's gender gap in four key areas:

1. Economic participation and opportunity, which includes female labor force participation, wage equality and the percentage of women in high-ranking jobs.
2. Educational attainment, which looks at female literacy and how frequently women are enrolled in higher education.
3. Health and survival, which is measured by comparing female and male life expectancy and mortality rates.
4. Political empowerment, which examines the number of women holding political office as well as the number of female heads of state over the last 50 years.

Iceland, Finland, and Norway take the first, second, and third spots, and all sound like very rad and great places to be a lady, so let's move immediately? I believe that in Norway you get about a year's maternity leave at 80% pay with a guaranteed job to come back to. It's enough to make me want to start popping out some Little Lauras today!

But first, let's look at some video of gorgeous Iceland scenery and be transported to the #1 place in the world for women. Bjork, can I get a shout!?